


the skin i'm living in

by blue--phantom (twilightscribe)



Series: i'll be the blood (if you'll be the bone) [14]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Demon Hunters, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mating, Mating Bond, McHanzo Week, McHanzo Week 2016, Minor Character Death, Protectiveness, Recovery, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, Van Helsing AU, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8997175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilightscribe/pseuds/blue--phantom
Summary: As Hanzo recovers from his near-death experience, Jesse discovers a new change as a result of their mating bond. Later, he realizes just how deep that change runs.





	

There were bound to be side effects from their bond. Jesse had known that going in. Sharing a vampire’s blood doesn’t come without consequences, especially not when it’s exchanged with his own to form a mating bond.

His senses have all been sharpened. Jesse’s no longer just an average human with excellent aim; he’s got an edge of his own now. He can see farther, hear better, smell things he couldn’t before, and his sense of taste is much sharper. The cheap booze he used to buy tastes even _worse_ than it did before and he can’t even stomach it anymore. Now he understands why Hanzo insists only on drinking the good stuff.

He’s taking time off from hunting at the moment. His focus right now is on Hanzo and making sure that he makes a full recovery.

So, he rents them a decent place in London and pays a little extra so that no one will ask any questions. The place is pricey, but it’s worth it.

Jesse first notices the faint white lines when he takes a long, hot bath.

Hanzo’s resting, still too weak to do much beyond rest and feed. Sometimes he takes a short walk about the bedroom, but he can’t manage much else and even that’s a stretch. Jesse’s come home more than once to find Hanzo collapsed on the bedroom floor, trying to drag himself back to the bed. Jesse knows just how frustrated he is that it’s taking so long for him to heal, but not even vampires can heal so quickly from near mortal wounds.

The lines spiral up and down his right arm. Jesse squints at them through the steam. There’s something very… familiar about the pattern. He’s seen it somewhere before. He just can’t remember _where_.

Memory loss isn’t supposed to be a side effect of repeated feedings, though.

Jesse shrugs it off. It’ll come back to him in time. He returns to his bath, enjoying the wealth of hot water and how it eases the ache in his muscles. It feels like heaven against his neck, which still displays faint bruises from Hanzo’s last feeding.

He appreciates how fast he heals now. It makes it easier to nurse a vampire back to health.

Once the water’s beginning to go cold, Jesse pulls the drain and hauls himself out of the bath. He wraps a towel around his waist, stomach rumbling. Rubbing it absently, he then wipes the steam from the mirror, catching further sight of the faint white lines that are now etched upon his arm.

Seeing them in the mirror gives him a better picture of what they look like and he realizes why they look so familiar to him.

There, etched onto his arm in pale white lines, is a replica of the tattoo that twines up Hanzo’s. Well, the dragon at least. It twines up Jesse’s arm, its head curled about his wrist, its tail sprawling out onto his shoulder. Though there’s no colour and it’s difficult to make out, Jesse would recognize that tattoo anywhere.

He emerges into the bedroom, turning his arm this way and that to try and get a better look at it.

“Something wrong?”

Hanzo’s propped up in bed against a veritable mountain of pillows. It’s Jesse’s turn to be a fussy mother hen and he’s quite sure that he might be _worse_ than Hanzo. But he won’t admit that out loud.

“Nothing’s wrong… but…” Jesse turns his arm, bends his elbow. “I’m not imagining this, am I?”

Despite his state of exhaustion, Hanzo’s eyes are as sharp as ever. And they go wide, “That… that should not be possible.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Hanzo stares at the faint lines of the dragon on Jesse’s arm, “Only a Shimada can – and I am all that is left of my bloodline. But...”

He falls silent, glancing to the side. It’s a tick of Hanzo’s, one that indicates that he’s putting his thoughts in order. Several long moments pass, before he sighs, and says, “I do not know if you will be able to summon a dragon as I do. But… perhaps it is possible. You are, after all, of my blood now.”

“Y’mean cause we’re mates and all.”

Hanzo nods, “My blood is a part of you now. I suppose that is more than enough for you to be considered a Shimada. I apologize; I had no idea that this would happen.”

Leaning down, Jesse presses a soft kiss to Hanzo’s temple, “Sweetheart, don’t worry about it. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”

“Still, I should have considered it.” Hanzo sighs, relaxing into Jesse’s touch, “It was a possibility.”

“I don’t mind,” Jesse grins, tossing his towel aside and crawling into bed with Hanzo. He curls up around the vampire, like a cocoon of protection. “‘Sides, it looks cool.”

He can hear Hanzo roll his eyes, “Of course _you_ would say that.”

Pausing, Jesse considers it, then says, “Guess I should look into changing my name then, huh? How does Jesse Shimada sound?”

Hanzo sputters, “We are not even married!”

“We practically are, though!”

“In vampire terms, yes. But…” Hanzo sighs, eyes closing and his hand trembles as he reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I suppose that I _should_ make an honest man out of you.”

Jesse hums, feeling sleepy from the bath and the late hour, “Probably, yeah. It’s something to think about anyway. But for now, I think we both need some rest.”

The sigh Hanzo unleashes is a strangled one. Jesse smiles sympathetically, “Yeah, I know it sucks. But you _did_ almost die. You need time to recuperate, love. Trust me, you’ll be back on your feet and looking threatening and shit in no time.”

“I’m aware,” Hanzo deadpans. “It is simply… frustrating. I had hoped it would not take so long.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” Jesse says. He shivers, remembering how many times he’d washed his hands to try and rid himself of the sight of it. “Even with my feeding you, it will take time for your body to recover. You’re a vampire – you’re not indestructible.”

“Forgive me, love,” Hanzo says, turning to Jesse. He kisses him, light and soft. “I’m unused to feeling… useless. It will pass, in time. But you are right; we should rest.”

Settling in, Jesse wonders whether Hanzo maybe is onto something about their having shared blood. After all, if Hanzo’s blood could enhance his senses and speed his healing, what other effects could it be having on him?

That night, Jesse dreams of a red dragon.

 

 

 

Jesse should have been more careful.

He’s made a lot of enemies over the years. And, since he has some of the worst luck, his enemies always pick the worst times to show up.

But the last thing he expects is for an old, familiar face to show up in their apartment.

“Well, well, I see that you’ve made something of yourself.”

Jesse’s hand twitches towards Peacemaker. He forces a smile, “Didn’t expect to ever see _you_ again, Sam. You’re a long way from home.”

Sam looks almost _exactly_ like he did back in their Deadlock days together. He hardly looks a day older than twenty, but there’s a wicked looking scar that runs from his left ear, down to his neck. The last time Jesse saw Sam, he’d been bleeding out all over the floor of their hideout, courtesy of one of Morrison’s knives.

He shouldn’t be alive.

“I do business in London these days,” Sam replies, steepling his fingers. “And I keep my ear to the ground in case old… _friends_ reappear. I’d been waiting for you to reappear; you’re a hard man to find, McCree.”

He resists the urge to glance at the door that leads to the bedroom, instead keeping his eyes on Sam. Jesse swallows.

“Can’t imagine why you’d be looking for me. I wasn’t involved in that whole… mess.”

Sam’s on his feet before Jesse can blink, eyes flaring wide and there is darkness in them that Jesse knows wasn’t there before. He snarls, the sound animalistic and cruel, fangs lengthening and showing past his lips.

Ah, that explains it then.

“Don’t _lie_ to me, McCree! I _know_ you were involved!” Sam snarls. Then, as though realizing he’s shown his hand, he takes a deep breath, smoothing out his ruffled feathers. Though he’s trying to stay calm, his voice is rough as he speaks – he can’t quite recapture the ease of earlier. “You walked out with that _bastard_ and I knew that I had to have my revenge. I couldn’t take it against him, so I’ll settle for you. Revenge is always so much better when it’s personal, isn’t it, McCree?”

“That what this is about? Vengeance?” He curls his hand around Peacemaker’s grip, finger resting on the trigger. Sam would know he’s a quick draw; but Sam _doesn’t_ know that he’s gotten quicker. Jesse’s got the element of surprise on his side.

“Of course it is,” Sam replies, spreading his hands wide. His smile has too many sharp teeth in it to be anything other than a threat. “You always were the preferred pet. But _I_ won out in the end. You have no idea what I’ve become.”

Jesse shrugs, “I’ve dealt with worse than the likes of you. But what I don’t get is why you’re coming after me.”

Sam’s face twists into a snarl, but his voice remains level, more or less. “You were always getting the best runs, the best rewards. I was jealous, but I could stand it because the rewards trickled down. But then you went and _sold us out_ to that bastard. You made sure I became this. So, perhaps I should thank you, but you owe me for the pain.”

Tracing the scar, Sam grins, fangs glinting in the light, “I do hope you taste better than you look, McCree. I’m going to enjoy this.”

There’s a crash from the bedroom. _Shit_.

Sam’s head whips towards the door, nostrils flaring, “You have company? I never took you for the honourable type, McCree. You always were the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. I doubt you’ve changed; your kind never does.”

Cocking his head to Jesse, Sam’s grin turns bloodthirsty, “Perhaps I’ll make you watch as I drain your pretty little lover? You can weep over their corpse before I take your life too.”

Jesse unholsters Peacekeeper, levelling it at Sam’s heart. Two shots, he thinks. That’s all he needs.

“You take one more step, Sam,” Jesse says, voice low and deadly. “And I’m gonna enjoy this.”

Something uncoils inside of him, dark and sinuous. It pulses hot and heavy inside of him, purring in his ear.

_Unleash me_.

Sam laughs. “You _really_ think you can take _me_?”

Jesse cocks the hammer, “You’ve got less than a second to get your ass out of here.”

“Or what? You’ll shoot me?” Sam’s laughing madly now. “Oh, you always did have such a terrible sense of humour.”

The tension uncoils inside of him, pulsing hot and outward. His arm burns. That voice is back, whispering along his senses. There’s a roaring in his ears.

“I’m not letting you take another step. I’ll end you here and now.”

Sam takes a step forward, towards the door. He lays his hand on the doorknob, “You–”

His vision goes red.

He pulls the trigger.

Jesse blinks.

Sam stares, eyes wide and terrified. He takes an unsteady step back.

The dragon is blood red, roaring as it charges through the air towards Sam. Jesse’s arm is glowing that exact same shade, lines of pain etched up it and there’s a roar in his mind that echoes that of the dragon that _he just summoned_.

The dragon tears into Sam, who screams, but that is lost in the rushing of the dragon’s roar. The room’s full of a blinding light and Jesse throws up a hand to shield his eyes.

When he lowers his hand and blinks, there’s a strange emptiness settling in. As though he just poured all of himself out – energy and self and all – leaving nothing behind but an empty husk. He’s trembling, knees knocking together and it’s only by sheer force of will that he remains on his feet.

He can feel the dragon coil within him, deep in his gut, purring with satisfaction.

The dragon is sated, indeed.

Glancing up, all that remains of Sam is a dark stain against the wall. The room is otherwise undisturbed.

“ _Holy shit_ ,” Jesse whispers, voice hoarse. He sags against the door.

Then falls into the bedroom. He narrowly avoids landing on Hanzo.

“Jesse! Are you alright? I heard – Jesse?”

Hanzo is crawling towards him, eyes wide and worried.

Jesse grins back at him, exhausted and unwilling to move from his place on the floor. He pats the ground next to him, “C’mere, Hanzo. I don’t think I can move after that light show there.”

“I felt it,” Hanzo says, using Jesse’s arm as a pillow. He wraps an arm around Jesse’s waist and curls closer. “The dragons were… restless.”

Jesse drops his head to the floor with a thud, the remaining adrenalin draining out of him and leaving him exhausted. But he’s still grinning.

“I bet. I just summoned one.”

He can feel Hanzo staring at him.

“You…”

“You were right. Looks like I _do_ have Shimada blood after all.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Prompt:** Ultimate Swap  
>  **Words:** 2245 words
> 
> It's not the direct sequel to _and i run from wolves_ , but here's some of the aftermath. I only did Jesse with Hanzo's and I may have twisted it a little, but it still fits the spirit of the prompt and that's what counts. Hanzo basically already has his own version of Jesse's ultimate, which I've touched on in the fic that centres around his senses. So... I'm pretty sure I've got everything covered. :)
> 
> Other than that, I'm actually very proud of myself that I not only managed to get myself caught up, but that I've managed this much so far. I've written well over 15k this week and yeah, it's a little bit like doing NaNo all over again, but as you can probably tell, I'm a little bit of an overachiever. It... may not be one of my best qualities, but I'm sure you all appreciate how hard I am going for this AU, right?
> 
> As always, you can find me on [tumblr](http://graysonflynn.tumblr.com/), where you can ask me shit if you want to. Also, let me know if there's something specific you want to see in this AU? Once the ship week is over, I'll be opened up for prompts if anyone is interested. :)


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